Markets

Explainer: Ireland’s rampant blue-chips drive stock exchange to 16-year high

Consistently strong performances from CRH, Ryanair, Kingspan and the banks have boosted the Iseq to record levels

Having opened at 8,909 – already a precipitous high – the Iseq reached a peak of 9,056. Picture: Getty

The Irish stock market has risen to its highest level since the peak of the Celtic Tiger years.

On Thursday, the Iseq all share – the index of all companies traded on Ireland’s stock exchange – broke the 9,000 mark for the first time since 2007 as stock markets continue to rally this year.

Having opened at 8,909 – already a year high – the Irish index reached a peak of 9,056 during trading on ...